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Day Seventeen - My Favourite Gif

Had to go for a classic, reminds me of my cat tbh

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Day Twelve - Relationships with My Parents

"Bloody parents - they're worse than children" ~Me

My relationship with my parents hasn't always been perfect, like all children I started off seeing them as opponents - everything was a struggle, everything was a contest, but thankfully as I grew up I began to realise that they were actually there to help and that between us we could get far more done by pulling in the same direction than in opposites and I can safely say now that while we don't always see eye to eye, we're always there for each other.

My parents have always been fantastically supportive of everything I've tried to do and always been there with advice and gentle guidance to help me find the right path.

"Just because you know how it's done, doesn't make it any less magical"

I've always been somewhat in awe of my dad; his musical talent (and his humility when anyone comments on it) and his ability to do DIY tasks that almost seemed mystical to me, when I was growing up he always had a little story or a joke for every situation and it was always him that made me feel better when I'd fallen over, he's also always protected me as best he can (an example that springs to mind is him making a particularly draconian English teacher of mine actually cry infront of me) I think it's because of this that I've always strived to make him proud of me (though I have occasionally missed the mark considerably).

"Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease." ~ Lisa Alther

My mother has always been the organiser from my experience; while she insists that she doesn't hold the power in our household, in truth she does (our house operates on a fully democratic system: myself and my father get one vote each, my mother gets four votes) Again really, I've been in awe of my mother for a long time, she works very hard for our family, keeping up fairly long hours in a job that was the only thing that kept us afloat for the last few years, in that time she's had to cope with a lot of stress and while I would hope that we've helped her through that as best as we can, she's mostly coped by herself and for this reason it is my firm belief that my mum is truly the strongest person I know.

If either of you are reading this (which I don't doubt will happen) I love you both so very much and am truly grateful for everything you've done for me over the last 22 years.

Nik.

Day Twenty-Two - Coffee / Tea

I don't drink Tea and I very rarely drink Coffee, but when I do it has to be black, very strong and with three or four sugars (depending on how strong the coffee ends up)

Day Fifteen - The Greatest Gift

“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I must admit I don't like writing about stuff like this, I'd rather not rank the gifts I've been given because I feel that a gift is more than just a material present - it also includes the intention and the feeling behind it. So I'm going to sidestep the question and say that they've all been awesome and if you don't like it, you know what to do.

Day Four - Someone I love

It'll probably come as a surprise to... absolutely no-one... that my subject for this post is none other than my girlfriend of nearly a year - Amanda.

As I mentioned - we've been together for nearly a year (11 months as of the 4th of Feb) but strangely it feels like much less, we're still learning things about each other and making each other laugh with our foibles and little in jokes that are growing daily in both complexity and quantity.

Amanda herself is the most amazing girlfriend I could ask for - both physically beautiful and the most wonderful and kind person I have ever met. She's not afraid to be different from most of the other women her age - keeping a level head and logical mind that I've not seen from many adults whilst still able to do the cutest and craziest things without much shifting of mental gear. Her kindness and consideration knows no limit - she truly is a beautiful person inside and out.

Apologies to anyone who may think I waffled somewhat - perhaps that's what love does to a person.

All that's left to say is: I LOVE YOU AMANDA!!

Nik.

Variety

Disney Censors Same-Sex Affection in Pixar Films, According to Letter From Employees

In a statement attributed to “the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies” obtained by Variety, employees of the animation studio alle

"We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the letter states. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”

To date, Pixar has only included a tiny handful of LGBTQ characters in its feature films, most prominently in the 2020 fantasy film “Onward,” which features a cyclops police officer named Specter, voiced by Lena Waithe. The character’s sexuality is only acknowledged in passing, when Specter says, “It’s not easy being a new parent – my girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out, okay?” But the movie was still banned in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to the scene, and in the version released in Russia, the word “girlfriend” was changed to “partner.”

Faith in humanity restored.